Why Replace Bulging Electrolytic Capacitors

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A degrading electrolytic capacitor is one of the main problems with malfunctioning power supply circuits, say in old stereos, constantly-on wall adapters and many heavy machinery. Make sure you check the power quality first.
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By: Mehdi Sadaghdar

[@ElectroBOOM]

Go to ground.news/electroboom to stay up to date on the latest and greatest in innovation and engineering. Plans start at $1/month or get 40% off their unlimited access Vantage plan.

[@t.nitheesh5898]

Hi broo Like from India Can yu make a ramp pump and explain😅...

[@farhamabbasi2325]

باشه

[@rayyanqureshi3422]

First

[@rayyanqureshi3422]

Assalamu alikum you are the best KZbinr

[@rayyanqureshi3422]

Mashallah 5k views in 10 min 👏

[@volkhen0]

the ending is pure wisdom.

[@KingJellyfishII]

I felt it deep within my soul

[@sciencedude22]

hit a little too close to home, that one

[@feedbackzaloop]

Soooooo relatable. Not only for electronics, but electronics especially

[@zachcarney3910]

Yup that's the real truth! haha

[@wchen2340]

Good to know that im completly normal. As least as far as that goes...

[@R2Bl3nd]

4:50 that "Sh*t!" was practically uncensored! lol

[@ElectroBOOM]

The T was sensored! close enough! So I might have said SHIRT!

[@Dynamicdrifting]

Good point...​@@ElectroBOOM

[@techtechnicalgaming]

​@@ElectroBOOM☠️

[@AmirHamja948]

​@@ElectroBOOM💀💀

[@jaketechno2765]

ow! shi-*bleep*

[@MeriaDuck]

11:05 A box full of maybe useful power supplies is glaring at me from a corner of the attic 😂😂😂.

[@user-ge6rb4gx1h]

🤝✋❤❤❤☺☺

[@mutualkiwi]

"I CAN ENGLISH JUST FINE!"

[@ONEYEDPiRAT]

When playing 8 ball

[@mutualkiwi]

@@ONEYEDPiRAT nah 7 ball

[@mostafaelawady8296]

1:34 oh my god 😂 the face

[@johnpettit6886]

Haha it was incredible

[@YuzinhaSz]

i read it exactly when it appeared lol

[@user-ge6rb4gx1h]

🤝✋❤❤❤☺☺

[@vhfgamer]

Ohhhhhhh boy, I resemble the last part of this video. The amount of salvaged electronics parts I have scattered around is going to take a lot of work to throw away when I die.

[@berni8k]

Yep that last part describes me perfectly

[@TheMightyZwom]

That's a goal a lot of us strife for :)

[@Talard94]

same here xDD

[@AttilaAsztalos]

I managed to reach the phase where I'm able to contemplate the concept that, uhhh... perhaps all those de-soldered resistors and capacitors in my youth are just a teeeeeny bit obsolete, will never ever again be used, and MAYBE I should (GASP!) get rid of them myself...

[@OhadLutzky]

Absolutely worth it for the one time that I did get to use a thing, felt like a freaking genius.

[@yakobobey3681]

I really love how high quality your videos are becoming, your edits and skits are great.

[@gabrielantiligando9905]

Imagine sleeping and your brain chips plays an ad

[@someone69420klh]

When is see capacitors in an electroboom video title i know there are gonna be explosions

[@techtechnicalgaming]

​@TeodoraTacderen lol

[@mundanestuff]

and no safety glasses, with those large eyes, you would think he has metal shards wedged in his corneas by now

[@ZLDSmogless]

When he uploads, there's gonna be explosions

[@MrCytrus]

when i see electroboom i know there are gonna be explosions

[@divVerent]

Well, he is in Canada, capacitor explosions are the only explosions he can have, for "a well regulated power supply" ;) (I am German, I am allowed to make that joke)

[@charutaoboladao7047]

10:45 every eletronics hobbyist ever haha (speaking from a room full of circuit board, components and broken stuff)

[@wchen2340]

spot on^

[@truthsRsung]

Is it no longer a "Hobby" if you Inventory your Collection? Will a Spreadsheet transform Fun into Work? Ask my lawn decoration that frothes at the mouth during that Speshul Time of Year.

[@ixfxi]

Mine is. Many things are in a constant state of repair. Additional knowledge always welcome and needed!

[@teilzeitbernd]

It's not "broken"! It's "potentially useful"!

[@Arel368]

((((((((( its ready to rebel against me

[@FirstnameLastname_official]

Was about to look for tutorials on discharging capacitors safely but this showed up in my recommendations. Thanks, Mehdi 😊

[@chase2234]

As someone who wasn't interested in electronics at all I finally figured out why I'm obsessed with your videos, it's the trial and error and constant creative problem solving, it's mind blowing honestly

[@waltercomunello121]

1:12 I KNEW Mehdi had another Mehdi prompting him with script passages.

[@therealjibrano]

"script passages" lmfao. like he's citing the ancient book or sth lol

[@user-ge6rb4gx1h]

🤝✋❤❤❤☺☺

[@stephencech3696]

Medhi is a KZbin legend. It is awesome to see such quality entertainment and learning/wisdom 😅

[@hanswichmann5047]

Loved the Davy504 clip!

[@dragonlordofchaos]

1:33 That face got me more than it should have😂

[@UG_GAMING]

Bro 😂😂😂

[@user-ge6rb4gx1h]

🤝✋❤❤❤☺☺

[@cringotopia8850]

ElectroBOOM is one of the few channels that ages but stays the same good quality.

[@DaveTheFloomper]

heck yeah. I'm glad he's adding more editing elements, but his raw presentation and comedic timing sells it

[@felixyasnopolski8571]

he's like wine. every year adds some more subtle tastes, but it will never degrade

[@Innuya]

I disagree, the quality's gotten better imo

[@DaveTheFloomper]

@@Innuya fr

[@suckmyballs701]

Ok

[@theguido236]

this video helped me fix my surge protector. thanks mehdi

[@lmwlmw4468]

No security glasses while blowing caps 2 feet away from your eyes Medhi??? Damn, that's confidence...!!! Great video.

[@RT-rx2sj]

It’s a little known fact that the Canadian Government has requested Medhi slow down how many videos he makes to save their power grid

[@_BangDroid_]

Wouldn't surprise me if they banned capacitors because they eXpLoDe

[@blueredbrick]

🤨😵‍💫🤪🖖

[@benjaminhill5571]

😂😂😂

[@tsm688]

nicola tesla once blacked out the entire state of california...

[@user-ge6rb4gx1h]

🤝✋❤❤❤☺☺

[@Simple_But_Expensive]

Note: edited to correct governor version. See posts below. I worked at a gas turbine powerplant built in the late 80’s. The engine control was a Speedtronic Mk IV. It had three redundant control computers (essentially highly modified 286 PCs), and a fourth communication computer for the interface. All of these computers had independent power supplies with a multitude of capacitors. We had 6 spare power supplies on the shelf. We found out the hard way that they had to be stored in the same orientation as when in operation. Of the six, we had only stored two in the correct orientation. The other four failed on install. We rotated them to correct orientation. A year later, one worked. The other three blew their capacitors. We never did figure out why.

[@nexonsu]

Maybe it was different revisions of board. I have seen something like this before in industrial 48V PSUs.

[@MastaBlastaZDusta]

This might be due to convective heat dissipation. Many devices with passive cooling are designed in such a way, that the hot air rises up and out. Cold air is coming in from the bottom. If you disrupt the orientatnion, you may end up with heat from transistors going to places it shouldn't - like bunches of capacitors, overheating them just as reversed polarity would.

[@Simple_But_Expensive]

@@MastaBlastaZDusta No, anytime they were under power they were mounted in the proper orientation.

[@Simple_But_Expensive]

@@nexonsu GE changes part number suffixes when they revise a part. All of these were purchased at the same time as the gas turbine package, and all had the same part number. We weren’t the only plant to have this problem. At least two others we talked to had the same results with their spares.

[@Kalvinjj]

It could be that they had film capacitors in them, and through the years have suffered from moisture ingress/process issues. Those caps have led to some older devices dying on 1st power on while they were all fine when stored, and even stored properly. Check EEVBlog 1486 (unless I'm remembering things a bit wrong). Also eletrolytic ones loaded with voltages far lower than their rating for long can also have issues, tho I forgot what the name of the mechanism/effect was.

[@danielrussell4834]

The end rant hit a little to close to home... love it

[@powerpc6037]

I also have some experience repairing faulty power supplies and usually with a switching PSU, there is a capacitor of between 4.7uF and 100uF (usually 22uF, these were the most I found) to provide power to the oscillator portion of the circuit which switches the mosfet. Usually this capacitor also sits next to the cooler plate (to which the mosfet is mounted) which dries out the dielectric due to the heat of the cooler/mosfet and makes the capacitor lose it's capacitance and increase the internal leakage current so it can no longer provide a steady DC voltage to the oscillator circuit. So if you have a power supply which sometimes turns on just fine and sometimes it just refuses to work, replace that capacitor and this usually does the trick. It doesn't need to be bulging to fail, it just needs to be old and/or sitting next to the cooler.

[@a_balloon]

0:16 He was right when he once said he has magic powers, not only he makes everything he touches explode, now he creates the power needed for the explosion with his fingers

[@akurasubject9617]

Power of photoshop

[@BenGameBG]

​@@akurasubject9617One question How tf are you gonna edit a video in (photo)shop? 💀

[@danek_hren]

5:03 That's quite an "exploЖn"!

[@Comfortfirst-dc6lx]

Sometimes I see your "complex" videos where it is hard to understand many things and think that one day I will be so educated (know about that) that I will be able to understand those things and these things also made me search about and know about it and ultimately make me enthesitis about it, thanks ElectroBOOM! And also, this video was easy to understand so don't think I don't understand any think!

[@sftf557]

1:34 Really hitting us with that "Ara ara~" face

[@u9Nails]

@3:19 that 555 timer for a brain implant made me laugh out loud!

[@user-ge6rb4gx1h]

🤝✋❤❤❤☺☺

[@Muppetias]

Once the 555 chip is thoroughly damaged and cooked, the question will be, do we replace/upgrade the chip, the head or both? 🤪

[@THE-SAVAN]

I really enjoyed watching mehdi’s videos and i was always thinking that they are just entertaining till one day my professor asked us a question about resistors and i was the only one knowing it. Mehdi is the only teacher that can deliver knowledge in entertaining and educating way at the same time, thank you mehdi..

[@NicoAn2]

yoo

[@THE-SAVAN]

heyy @@NicoAn2

[@dweeps.]

5:31 bro created the forbidden vape😂😂😂

[@TheSgtFarmer]

This man popped in my shorts recently. I dont know most of what he is doing or saying, but hes insane, and i love it

[@n646n]

this was a strange read... "popped in my shorts" can be interpreted in many different ways

[@czechgop7631]

The end is literally me xD Keeping anything with good components on for YEARS

[@SomeWaddleDee]

I really appreciate how interesting you make learning about electronics!

[@ElectroBOOM]

HEY thanks for the... what is it, super chat?! But thanks!

[@mrbigsausage6918]

It's a shame you only respond to people that make donations, you should try to make more of an effort actually talking to your viewers that ask you questions@@ElectroBOOM

[@HarrysDogmalaysia]

im guessing supercomment@@ElectroBOOM

[@fairyball3929]

@@HarrysDogmalaysiaKZbin calls it a Super Thanks.

[@JeffWardMusic]

One of your best ever videos Mehdi. A work of pure genius which had me in fits while learning something, thank you! 6.25 is the funniest thing I've seen all year.

[@ghostinng274]

This kinda stuff is why I love this channel. Teaches me random things in a funny and entertaining way. Gotta love this guy.

[@beatle_jake]

Learned about bulging capacitors as I was getting into reel to reel tape deck maintenance. The motor run capacitor on one of my earliest decks (50+ years old) was failing and the dielectric was oozing out the top. I was able to replace it with a much more modern ceiling fan style cap of the same specks in just a few minutes!

[@jamesyoungquist6923]

Did the same for a monitor power supply. $0.30 and 20 minutes to save a few hundred $$. Home electronics repair isn't as hard as most people think. Same as changing your car oil or putting in some new shelves. Especially now with countless tutorials

[@mrrandomperson3106]

Mine was an old Cisco switch I rescued from e-waste at work. Brought it home, all the lights lit up but nothing else. After some time googling I decided to buy in new capacitors and replace them all. Lo and behold it booted!

[@nickwallette6201]

Watching this channel really ramps up my anxiety. haha It starts to seep in to my expectations after I've repaired a PSU and turn it on for the first time. It's always a surprise when I'm met with nothing but a whirring fan and a volt-meter with a totally benign reading across the output rail. I unscrunch my face, open one eyelid, exhale, and thank the gods of full-bridge rectification that things seem to have gone well.

[@user-ge6rb4gx1h]

🤝✋❤❤❤☺☺

[@coolguy-wx6qv]

i always get so worried then i realize if something actually bad had happened the video would've never been posted lolol

[@thefredrockshow]

Thanks for letting me know the existence of Ground, been using it daily since i saw your video ❤️

[@Cr4zYH3aD]

I learn so much in every video! Thank you!

[@JustPyroYT]

10:52 Why can I relate to this so much? 🤣

[@Dinco422]

10:55 That was exactly how I felt after my dad passed... Weirdly relateable xD

[@fernandolimavicente5941]

A couple of years ago a electroboom compilation found me on facebook, but didn't find channel the name at that time. Until some days ago!! This is the far best channel I've found on KZbin recently. Thank you for such nice content and please, be careful and keep yourself alive :D

[@user-ge6rb4gx1h]

🤝✋❤❤❤☺☺

[@DsComputerWorld]

I love your channel. Please make a video of making a buzzer diy.

[@svetomov6997]

Found your channel at the perfect time, man - currently changing careers :) My water heater broke two weeks ago & I repaired it myself after obsessing like a madman for a few days ... I think I'm hooked, wiring is the best puzzle there is! Forget about electricity being the cornerstone of civilization - this is magic, we tamed lightning & put it to work! That's how a passion for electric systems was born hahaha Man, I wish one day to be as good as you ... will definitely watch more :D

[@truthsRsung]

You can be better than him tomorrow, if you wear some Safety Glasses while Exploring the Black Arts of Science.

[@DrFiero]

@0:50 - keeping the *BOOM* in ElectroBOOM. :D

[@Goombertothenoober]

His hitting 7 million subscribers 🎉🎉🎉❤❤❤

[@UncleSam1732]

I know absolutely nothing about electricity but Medhi just makes shit funny 😂

[@GalgoczkiAdam]

Mehdi

[@nothing_hereyet]

​@@TeodoraTacderenpart two of what?

[@st200ol]

I have an HND in electronics and I too find it funny.

[@Towdeee]

Same here.

[@Heroo01]

@@nothing_hereyet part two-hundred of bot spam

[@benjaminhill5571]

Love the videos Medhi!! Fun knowledge!

[@hiiamelecktro4985]

7:00 💯 💯 I made this mistake once on a school project. Hooked the power supply to some servo’s expecting precision movements. Instead, they started doing their best impression of a merry-go-round.

[@Toby_Q]

10:50 - Exactly. That is so spot on!

[@AulisA.O.T]

1:34 Face: HU-HU-HU!

[@Lalo_Salamanca115]

I used to watch this guy like six years ago. So glad he’s still doing the same stuff

[@countmorbid3187]

11:00 That's me ... Still have boxes with components i saved up over the years but never used. Next to all the discarded projects that lost my interest after finishing them ...

[@JamisCasusa]

You finish your projects?

[@countmorbid3187]

@@JamisCasusaMost of them get finished, but then the interest is gone for some reason. Seen that, done that kinda thing ... 😂

[@Quettesh]

4K video, you are putting the upgrade into a good use. It always cheers me up when I see "capacitors" in the title.

[@Finn4231]

Brother, your videos literally make me giggle. Please keep doing your thing, you're awesome. So stoked you live in Vancouver, means I might be lucky enough to meet you one day!

[@MasoudZamani]

Happy Nowruz Mahdi, Best wishes for you and Family

[@can-cruiser]

5:32 you just re-invented the steam engine... 🙂 🙂

[@NC_Isro_64]

😂😂😂

[@lena96969]

Could also see it as a solid fuel rocket engine 😂

[@EyesOfByes]

2160p and editing goes hard with that new PC from Linus

[@sameeurrahman2008]

Congratulations Medhi u got 7M SUBSCRIBES🎉🎉 make a celebration video broo

[@ZestUser-vw8yl]

Congrats on 7 mil🎉🎉🎉❤

[@aravindarao9523]

8:30 just happened to me toady lol

[@hamzaashor7486]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@phonotical]

In the early 2000s we had a computer that never run quite right, a capacitor had leaked, so what did I do? Just poke it back together and hope for the best 😂

[@Wario-The-Legend]

How'd that turn out?

[@phonotical]

@@Wario-The-Legend it still worked ok, it was just a pile of shit computer 😂

[@JS19000]

That seems about right. That computer was most likely affected by the capacitor plague where capacitors from many Chinese and Taiwanese manufacturers had very high failure rates. Most of the bad capacitors were made between 1999 and 2003. It was a huge problem at the time and cost many companies like Dell and HP for example hundreds of millions of dollars.

[@Lucien86]

@@phonotical Its a rule the the 'pile of crap' computers will keep working forever. Its the 'too expensive' top of the line stuff that always fails first.. then you cant fix it..

[@mrnmrn1]

Unfortunately some used computer resellers did the same. Pushed the bulging capacitors' top back to flat, cleaned off the dired up leaked electrolyte if there was any, and sold the machine.

[@MKXD2010]

Hey medhi you almost reach 7 million subscribers what’s you gonna do

[@ShadowCammando24]

Mehdi is a master of both education & entertainment. There is such magic in the videos he makes. Electroboom is truly one of a kind! ❤

[@cyprex]

9:13 awesome explanation!

[@Maxwe1I]

No views in 11 seconds, electroboom really fell off

[@GuagoFruit]

555 views in 1 minute. Washed up KZbinr.

[@hrabbiskitur1715]

Bruh i was watching an old video of his when this was posted

[@andycrask3531]

Gone up a bit now 😂

[@metalinspired]

He didn't pay for a better KZbin algorithm 😂

[@Hadadoessomthing]

3505 he is still standing

[@retrozmachine1189]

One of the techs at the place I worked years ago delighted in taking large electros out of defunct equipment destined for the bin and placing them directly across 240VAC. My office was near their workshop and I'd hear loud bangs coming from it occasionally so I took a look. As soon as I saw what he was doing I got out of there. It's a miracle he didn't cop shrapnel in the eye really.

[@xxGamerZxx50]

It doesn't matter how many time i watch or rewatch your videos, i always learn something

[@randolphtwells1360]

6:27; Note: Don't correct Mehdi for his video; otherwise, he is going to blow steam. Either way, capacit, capacity, capacitate is only way can say.

[@a-person100]

a collector collects an inductor inducts a mentor ments a capacitor capacits

[@desertlife4660]

“This guy would have been dead a long time ago if he didn’t know what he was doing”

[@abirpaul5064]

damn so truwe

[@justicefool3942]

He did come close to killing himself with the Jacobs Ladder though. The one time incompetence saved his ass.

[@techtechnicalgaming]

Frr

[@AttilaAsztalos]

But, but, but... is Mehdi the Styropyro of electricity, or is Styropyro the Electroboom of, uhhh, everything else...?!?

[@parsonk4041]

Well there was some luck involved as well. Remember his Jacobs ladder.

[@MCRailway18-rl]

1:24 WTF is that FACE ?!?!?!? 😂🤣🤣🤣

[@JokeOfJan]

6:26 😂😂😂 OMG this is perfect❤

[@GameOfNico]

I really love the NE555 when you talked about Neurolink

[@K.T.G..]

3:05 ..... LET........IT............COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK

[@DrakiniteOfficial]

I just realized I had a dream last night in which my friends and I went around trying to fix blown capacitors. It was basically a repeat of everything you taught us in this vid, since I watched it yesterday.

[@temyraverdana6421]

You are a great genius. You have a great way of explaining difficult things with fantastic comedy. Thanks a lot

[@dxdx2088]

didn't expect 2nd video within 2 weeks this month . But more videos = more fun .

[@Ekvorivious]

4:52 "They don't have pressure release mechanisms" Yes. Yes they do... 😂 It's called exploding. 🤣

[@YuzinhaSz]

I think he means a slow pressure release

[@HaileyStudios1213]

First video ive seen of this guy and i love it

[@lassitoytari5360]

Legitimately good videos for engineering students

[@FunctionalHistories]

I know very little about electricity, but I have to tell you that you make this type of learning genuinely fun and interesting for me. The English language, though..? That's something on which I have a pretty firm grasp. You don't need to worry about 'capacite' if the kids that grow up with the language say 'literally' when they don't MEAN literally and BEGIN THOUGHTS with the phrase 'I mean'. You're good, dude. :)

[@wpistol]

I'm so glad to see you're still making content! I just found you again!

[@NewWorld-pm3bq]

You are the greatest teacher I have ever learn with, thanks

[@vibratingstring]

I am laughing about the last part. My fathers electronic collection and now my electronic collection hahahahah

[@justdarian]

its a good day when Mehdi uploads

[@arduinomaster7334]

good point you made there at the end

[@danyan4385]

WE NEED MORE VIDEOS !!! 😁 Really ... we need it ! Thank You !

[@Okurka.]

6:49 That's a full wave bridge rectifier.

[@rdcfrdcf]

2:20 liking the PP :) I want one!

[@danek_hren]

Strange that the PSU has "60V & 40A" which equals to 2.4 KW yet is says ⅓ of that 🤔

[@user-ge6rb4gx1h]

🤝✋❤❤❤☺☺

[@danek_hren]

@@user-ge6rb4gx1h 🤡🤡

[@Zeuskabob1]

1:45 "charges are stored on its plates" Yes, and this is the perfect opportunity to talk about why it's called a dielectric! Not all insulators are good dielectrics, the important factor in a dielectric is its ability to form a strong electric gradient between a positively charged side and negatively charged side. The charges on the plates of the capacitor won't stay where they are unless the dielectric holds an opposite charge close to them.

[@zadiczane7618]

Electrolytic capacitors are Mehdi's entire channel. If they get replaced, Mehdi goes hungry

[@kataseiko]

I had a problem with a flickering monitor and had a look inside. There were 8 capacitors in there and two of them looked a bit bulged. I replaced all of them (not just the two funky ones) with the same value but from a reputable manufacturer (not can't-blame-my-company-without-name branding). It works without issue for well over 5 years since.

[@user-ge6rb4gx1h]

🤝✋❤❤❤☺☺

[@ed_halley]

Hey, SLOW MO GUYS, a blown capacitor...

[@coding_box4265]

Thanks man for making us learn differently, it's suuper fun lol

[@Jimiscool88]

its good that linus upgraded ur setup bc u can edit better now and the mic sounds much better than before!

[@austinforgie1069]

0:02 You know the happened to one of my old tablet chargers I had to fanagel it so it'll charge.

[@blablablue1-23]

Normal viewers: Oh wow very educational 👍🏼 ElectroBOOM viewers: Wow capacitor go BOOOM

[@youdontknowme5969]

sparks are fun 💥

[@joe125ful]

No?

[@GeorgeWashingtonLaserMusket]

You're an inspiration and an incredible educator while keeping it entertaining. Thank you.

[@user-ge6rb4gx1h]

🤝✋❤❤❤☺☺

[@mattb6307]

Thanks Sir for the videos. 😊